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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Interview with romance author Sofie Darling

Romance
author Sofie Darling is here today
to chat with me about her new historical romance, Tempted by the Viscount.

During
her virtual book tour, Sofie will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble
(winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for
a chance to win, use the form below.
To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit
her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Welcome, Sofie. Please share a little
bit about your current release.

Tempted by the Viscount is the second book in
my Shadows and Silk series.

Jake is new in Town. He’s been a sailor all his
life, but he recently inherited an English viscountcy that he didn’t really
want. He has two goals: sort out the estate’s finances and find a wife. Well,
mostly a stepmother for his daughter Mina. She has a mixed-race heritage and
for her to succeed in English Society, she will need a proper stepmother of
impeccable reputation to guide and protect her.

With her pedigree, Lady Olivia Montfort might
perfectly fit the bill, except she’s a scandalous divorcée and has sworn off
men entirely. What she really wants is her own townhouse and complete
independence.

When Jake’s past in the Far East surfaces in
London and threatens Mina’s future, Jake and Olivia must strike a bargain to
help each other. What they don’t anticipate is the temptation of each other.

What inspired you to write this book?

I
read a historical fiction novel set in early 19th century Dejima,
Japan and was fascinated by the setting. Before 1854, Japan was closed to all
Western trade with the exception of the Dutch and only on the small, man-made
island of Dejima located in the Bay of Nagasaki. It wasn’t long before my
half-Dutch, half-English sea captain came to me, and his story began to unfold.
I love the setting so much that I’m planning on returning there in a later book
in the series.

Excerpt from Tempted by the Viscount:

The
string quartet struck up the opening notes of a waltz, the crowd raised its
voice in a unified cheer, and Lord St. Alban held out his hand to her. “May I
have the honor of this dance?”

She
should say no. She needed to say no.

She
couldn’t. Not without inviting more scandal from the odd curious eye that might
be observing them. She’d endured enough scandal these last six months to last
her a lifetime.

She
stepped a hesitant foot forward and held out her hand, willing herself to look
up at him. Most extraordinary were Lord St. Alban’s eyes: arctic blue rimmed in
navy. They should be frosty, but they weren’t. They burned with the whitest
heat of a blue flame.

She’d
never entertained the idea that one could be incinerated by a waltz. But when
he took her hand and her pulse jumped, she suspected that she would be lucky to
escape this dance entirely unsinged.

She
steeled herself and asked, “Shall we begin?”

On
a nod, he pulled her toward him and set their bodies into motion. Her gaze
remained resolutely fixed over his shoulder in the hope of foiling any attempt
at small talk on his part. Her hope was immediately dashed.

“It
is a strange sensation,” he began, “to have your body so completely in hand
and, yet, the essence of you so far away.”

A
shocked laugh escaped her. Words like body
and essence could make a lady go
speechless. They weren’t words used in polite circles, particularly in the way
they’d crossed his lips, as if a promise was located somewhere inside.

Desperate
to summon an upright ancestor or two, she said, “You know nothing of my body or
my essence.”

What exciting story are you working on
next?

I’ve
just turned in the third book of the Shadows and Silk series, Her Midnight Sin, to my editor. It’s the
story of world-weary Captain John Nylander and feisty widow Lady Calpurnia
Radclyffe as they vie for the same Devon country estate. There will be pirates
and apple brandy.

When did you first consider yourself a
writer?

Honestly,
I still have trouble with that. My first book was published less than a year
ago. I keep waiting for the feeling to kick in.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's
your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find
time to write?

I
consider myself a part-time writer and full-time mom. A typical day for me
begins with a pre-dawn run before I start the kid morning routine of packing
the school lunch and seeing my youngest off to school. Then I write … until
it’s time for school pick-up and after school routines.

What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?

I
can’t create on a computer. I have to handwrite on a blank sheet of typing
paper with a #2 pencil, preferably a Ticonderoga.

As a child, what did you want to be when
you grew up?

I
was kind of a dreamy kid who was always reading. I never really thought about
what I wanted to be. I think if someone had told I could’ve been a professional
reader, I would have jumped on that.

Anything additional you want to share
with the readers?

Thank
you so much for having me on your blog today. I really enjoyed it!

I'm listed!

Blog Tour Partner - Goddess Fish

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About Me

I'm a NH native and love New England. I love writing about the region, exploring it on foot, on my bicycle, and in my car. There are so many small communities and fun and interesting people in this area, that I could be here a lifetime and not do all it is I want to do. :)

I'm a moderator at The Writer's Chatroom that hosts live chats with guest authors on Sunday nights 7-9PM EST. Join the e-mail list to get notifications of upcoming guests, then stop in and join the conversation!